Extended Reality in Higher Education: Insights from the ReX Project

Von: Innawa Bouba und Josephine Glander
The integration of Extended Reality (XR) – which covers the spectrum from fully virtual (VR) to technologically augmented (AR) reality—into higher education offers fascinating applications, not only in technical and natural sciences, but also in humanities, such as history and political science. With this technology, students can immerse themselves in virtual worlds: for example, they are able to ‘experience’ history in an immersive way (see the blog post by Elena Lewers) by ‘visiting’ places that are no longer accessible or ‘encountering’ historical personalities directly in their own environment. The range and subject matter of such applications has grown steadily in recent years. In this context, there is a growing need to explore how XR technologies can be meaningfully integrated into higher education contexts.
The “ReX: Reflecting XR for a Diversity-Sensitive Higher Education” project focuses on the reflective and diversity-sensitive use of XR in higher humanities education. Coordinated by the Institute for Didactics of Democracy, the project brings together partners from Pavia, Passau, and Vienna to develop a comprehensive handbook for teachers, guiding them in the effective, content-related, and productive integration of XR applications into their teaching. The handbook outlines strategies for concrete implementation.
The need for such approaches is becoming increasingly clear. Digitalisation and the novel character of innovative XR tools are complex and diverse, meaning that – at present – there is often a lack of corresponding didactic concepts. The challenges are numerous: acquiring the necessary equipment is expensive, and there may be limitations in technical resources. Moreover, this new technology, especially when addressing sensitive topics, raises fundamental questions of media ethics that need to be critically considered when integrating it into university teaching.
One example of this are the films “UNICEF VR-360” They consist of a collection of immersive, interactive videos produced by UNICEF to raise awareness of the challenges and needs of children in different parts of the world. These videos utilise 360-degree videography technology to provide an intense and immersive experience for viewers. In one of the films, six-year-old Nase guides viewers on a 360-degree tour of her home—a refugee camp in northern Turkey. Although XR films offer numerous advantages for an innovative learning environment due to their immersive character, the portrayal of war and displacement realities in XR applications requires critical reflection and didactic support. Diversity-sensitive and media-critical approaches should therefore be included in didactic considerations when using XR tools in educational contexts.

The ReX project addresses this interface between innovative XR tools and the need for critical didactic reflection. It aims to develop a teaching-learning concept that serves as a guideline for the reflective integration of XR technologies in university teaching. At the same time, it promotes diversity-sensitive education in social sciences, humanities, and cultural studies. Since autumn 2023, an extensive handbook has been in development to serve as a practical guide for teachers after the project is completed.
The work process benefits from the diverse expertise of the project partners in the fields of higher education didactics, (virtual) teaching, and the creation of teaching and learning materials. Discussions on suitable XR applications already took place at the kick-off meeting in May 2024 at the Institute for Didactics of Democracy in Hanover. Fundamental questions were discussed, including the understanding of XR, the use and opportunities of XR applications and how to deal with emotionality in teaching. Discussions also covered which access points and applications are appropriate in the context of topics such as fake news and diversity. These approaches and ideas will be further concretised, tested, and then documented in a modular handbook as the project progresses.
The ReX project demonstrates how XR technologies not only enable innovative teaching methods in higher education teaching, but also make a valuable contribution to diversity-sensitive education. Developing practical teaching and learning concepts represents an essential step towards future-oriented education.
Mehr Informationen zum Projekt finden Sie hier.
OpenEdition schlägt Ihnen vor, diesen Beitrag wie folgt zu zitieren:
iddredaktion (12. Dezember 2024). Extended Reality in Higher Education: Insights from the ReX Project. Abseits der Fußnote. Abgerufen am 9. Februar 2025 von https://doi.org/10.58079/12wte